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Wilson not satisfied despite great start

Wilson not satisfied despite great start

TORONTO -- For Rangers starting pitcher C.J. Wilson, good is not good enough.

While the former reliever is off to a torrid start in 2010 -- 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA over seven starts -- he insisted that he is anything but satisfied.

"All the guys that are the best in the big leagues really are the guys who work the hardest," Wilson said. "I don't want to leave any stones unturned, whether it's in the weight room, with my running routine, or relying on the expertise of everyone else that has been in a similar situation to myself.

"I ask our staff a lot of questions. I ask our strength and conditioning guy, 'Hey, what did [Tom] Glavine do when you had him?' I'll ask the Blue Jays guy, 'Hey, what did Roy Halladay do?' You do what the successful guys do, and then that's how you become one of the best."

For Wilson, a starting rotation spot out of Spring Training was all but a guarantee, but the opportunistic left-hander seized the chance and ran with it.

"I was told I had a slim chance to take that spot," Wilson said. "When they first put me in the bullpen, I did well enough to stick, and that's kind of the issue in baseball -- if you do something well, they'll keep you there."

He had 14 saves with a 2.81 ERA over 73 2/3 innings in 2009.

Wilson, who was moved into the bullpen after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2003, said he has no concerns about the added workload, citing minimal changes to his workout routine.

"That was so long ago," Wilson said. "The big thing for me is to minimize the stress in my arm. Per pitch, I don't throw as hard as I used to. As a reliever, you come in and throw every ball at 100 percent. As a starter, I'm throwing the ball 87-88 percent, so it's easier on my body."

Although it is not uncommon for members of the bullpen to assume a spot in the rotation, Wilson has made the transition look seamless. The 29 year-old out of Newport Beach said it was easy for him to revert back into a starter's mentality, where he was back in 2002 in the Minor Leagues.

"You're forcing guys to hit the ball a certain way as opposed to making sure they don't hit it at all," Wilson said. "As a reliever, I literally threw the ball as hard as I could. Now it's changeup, curveball, cutter, sidearm, whatever."

No matter what the future holds for Wilson, you know exactly what you're going to get.

"Every time I have a chance to do something, I do it to the furthest of my ability -- that's the kind of person I am."